Sawgrass suits Mickelson's approach

Posted: Wednesday, May 07, 2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Phil Mickelson used to be a duck out of water at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.

And he'd tell you that.

It took just a few weeks of practice sessions with swing coach Butch Harmon - who had worked with five previous pros who had won The Players - for Mickelson to realize that he could throttle down his game off the tee, get in position to hit precise irons shots into the greens and use his short-game to master the complexities of the Stadium.

Mickelson won The Players Championship in 2007 with 72 holes of near flawless golf. He now believes it's a course suited to his game, much like the Augusta National Golf Club or Pebble Beach.

"That's a course where probably not too many people expected me to win," Mickelson said. "And I know that I had not played that well there in the past. I've always loved the course, but I never had performed to my expectations. It excites me to go back there now. I have the same type of feeling for the course as I do when I get to Augusta."

Before his two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia last year, Mickelson had competed 14 times in the Players, missing four cuts and finishing among the top 10 only twice - a tie for eighth in 1998 and a tie for third in 2004. He also tied for 28th in 2002 after dominating the field with a first-round 64.

However, Mickelson shot 75 or worse in each of his last three rounds that week.

Two key factors merged to change Mickelson's fortunes last year:

Harmon, who coached previous Players winners Steve Elkington, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and Adam Scott, convinced Mickelson to use his 3-wood off the tee more than his driver.

Moving the tournament to May meant the course did not have to be overseeded with bent grass. It was wall-to-wall bermuda, with 2-inch rough, and Mickelson was overjoyed with the results of practice sessions - especially around the greens.

When The Players was in March, with 5-inch bent rough, the only option when missing the green was hacking the ball out with a sand wedge and hoping it stopped somewhere in the vicinity of the hole.

"I loved the course being firm and fast and the way the balls would run away from the greens when you missed," he said.

"That forced the short game to be a crucial element. It almost sounds like they changed the course just for me, which is certainly not what they intended. But they did set the course up to play like (architect) Pete Dye originally intended."

Harmon agreed that changes made to the course - firmer, faster, less rough - played right into Mickelson's hands, given the changes they made to his swing.

"The changes we made - how he drives the ball and at the same time keeps things under control - made it a very good course for him," Harmon said.

It's hard to believe Mickelson enters any tournament under the radar. He won't be come Thursday.

He doesn't care, because he has a Players Championship on his already lengthy résumé. Mickelson said that accomplishment feels as good as his three major championships.